Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Ahmed R. Abou Naja Managing & Creative Director Marwa R. Abou Naja Editor Nahla Samaha Contributors Andy Bloxham Achraf Baznani Patrycja Makowska Shea Evans Michael Bou-Nacklie Emily Boutard Published by
UNEXPLORED PUBLISHING United Arab Emirates P. O. Box 5337 Garhoud, Dubai Tel: +971 4 283 3254 Lebanon P. O. Box 14-5184 Mazraa, Beirut Tel: +961 1 654 910 Editorial Inquiries: editorial@unexploredpublishing.com Marketing Inquiries: marketing@unexploredpublishing.com Š Cover Photograph Courtesy of Patrycja Makowska
Distribution Inquiries: distribution@unexploredpublishing.com ISSN 1997-0625
All text and layouts remain the copyright of Unexplored Publishing. Soura Magazine cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material or transparencies. Soura Magazine is fully independent and its views are not those of any company mentioned herein. All copyrights and trademarks are recognized and all images are used for the purpose of criticism and review only. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without a written permission of the publisher. Soura Magazine can accept no responsibility for inaccuracies or complaints arising from advertisements featured within the publication.
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This issue is a culmination of all the idiosyncrasies that when combined together make us human‌ our quirky side, our dramatic flair, our love of food, our introspection, our outrosepction, our heritage, and our yearning for something beautiful in its simplicity. Inspired by dreams, Andy Bloxham recreates odd situations and subconscious manifestations in his series 9Months where each of his images is a glimpse of a much larger and deeper narrative borne of his dreams. Achraf Baznani in the meantime, places himself in miniature form into our world, giving us a surreal perspective of everyday objects, as well as a chance for introspection. He uses Photoshop to create dramatic worlds with palpable tension and anticipation of where the narrative could be taking us. Looking outwardly, Patrycja Makowska documents the beauty in the decaying in her documentation of old and forgotten places that keep within them many secrets and a special brand of transformative magic. Shea Evans has taken food deconstruction to a whole new level, turning ingredients into appetizing works of art, each worthy of a museum wall in its own right, while Michael Bou-Nacklie documents a dying heritage in the Arabian dessert through his deeply personal and intimate book of photography Asir: Sand in an Hourglass. Finally, Emily Boutard takes back to a simpler time when our childhood fascination with all things small and sweet seemed eternal in her historically accurate miniature world. There is something to satisfy all the pieces of our complex and confused adult minds, perhaps you, our dear reader, will find a photo that will speak to all beautiful parts of you. Soura Magazine Team
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CONTENT | ISSUE 42 06 Andy Bloxham Work is Imagination 20 Achraf Baznani Humour and Wonder 30 Patrycja Makowska Magic of Forgotten Places 40 Shea Evans From Kitchen to Camera and Back 50 Michael Bou-Nacklie A Single Light and a Truth 62 Emily Boutard A Big Girl in a Small World
2016 | Volume 2  5
Photography | Andy Bloxham
Andy Bloxham Work is Imagination
Growing up in Louisiana, Andy Bloxham turned to his imagination for activity. These pursuits manifested through photography, filmmaking, creative writing and theater, and even music and computer design. This creative approach to life extended to his adulthood and funneled into photographic storytelling.
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Creating what he considers imagery made through a grinning camera, Bloxham’s work has been featured in over a dozen solo exhibitions… Creating what he considers imagery made through a grinning camera, Bloxham’s work has been featured in over a dozen solo exhibitions, including at the Hagedorn Foundation Gallery in Atlanta, the Hartnett Gallery at the University of Rochester, and the Photography Gallery at the University of Notre Dame. Additionally, it has appeared in over sixty group exhibitions, including Spinning Yarns, a traveling exhibition since 2011 that showcases photographic storytelling. He has been published by PDNedu, Digital Photo Pro, CNN International, numerous Creative Quarterly issues, and has given over eighty artist talks at colleges, galleries, and conferences across the United States.
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Commercial opportunities allow him to transform client ideas into creative realities. An active traveller across the world, Bloxham is an educator each year at the Maine Media Workshops, and provides special lecture and workshop events at schools and galleries. In addition, commercial opportunities allow him to transform client ideas into creative realities, from the unique portrait to the elaborately constructed narrative. His work is his imagination. Photography allows him to play inside of it. Plans have changed
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2016 | Volume 2  7
Photography | Andy Bloxham
Hold the beat
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New game country
2016 | Volume 2  9
Photography | Andy Bloxham
A forgotten one
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Two left Feet
2016 | Volume 2  11
Photography | Andy Bloxham
Euro notice
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Interrupted pleasure
2016 | Volume 2  13
Photography | Andy Bloxham
If you want to talk
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A thirty thirty
2016 | Volume 2  15
Photography | Andy Bloxham
Lost reception
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Regrettably Xanthous
2016 | Volume 2  17
Photography | Andy Bloxham
Layover
Wait your turn
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A Grinning Camera The process to my work originated in the outlying woods surrounding my home as a child. I turned to my imagination for adventure. Three logs was a fortress. A hole was a trench. A puddle became a hidden water sanctuary. I went through many sets of clothes as I acted out imaginary scenes behind my parents’ house. This playful, pondering, creative approach to life extended into my adulthood, where a blending of my passions for photography, film, prose, and performance melded together to influence my perspective on image making. Pulling ideas from my short stories and isolating core moments into visuals, my work centers on fictitious situations and events, told through the slight hint of a grinning camera.
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… my work centers on fictitious situations and events, told through the slight hint of a grinning camera.
I am a fictional storyteller. My photographs are selfcontained narratives referring to larger stories containing buildups and conclusions, but the viewer only receives brief glimpses of the event. I enjoy questions rather than answers. This invites the viewer to meet my imagination halfway. I dramatize various aspects of life and present them in a packaged form of entertainment. They are escapism from reality, albeit thinly veiled. This is what separates fiction from reality, but it is this separation where I feel most comfortable.
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I dramatize various aspects of life and present them in a packaged form of entertainment. They are escapism from reality, albeit thinly veiled.
For 9Months, it began by me keeping a journal next to my bed. I was going through a particularly stressful time in my life, and it was influencing my sleeping patterns. Particularly, my dreams were abnormally vivid and both mesmerizing and terrifying. Never one to let free stories go to waste; I woke each morning and transcribed them as accurately as I could remember. Instead of jumping straight into a new production, I spent the next
nine months focusing on being a new teacher while continuing to collect subconscious stories. I don’t like to react instantly to an idea. I prefer to think on it, analyze it, break it down, find the core or abstract of the topic, and then use that fragment as the starting point for a new photographic scene. It’s safe to say that none of these photographs would be familiar to the source material, but they all started as words on a page. They were glimpses of what characters could be and visions for those interactions. After those nine months concluded, I started the process of dissecting all of this written material into core paragraphs and statements, and then built storyboards for each potential scene. I made a few photographs that year toward the project, but constantly found that my time needed to be divided up across different responsibilities. This is what sparked the idea of finishing this project while on a massive summer photographic road trip across North America.
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It’s safe to say that none of these photographs would be familiar to the source material, but they all started as words on a page. They were glimpses of what characters could be and visions for those interactions. These types of adventures are my equivalent to a writer’s cabin in the woods. Real life slips away, so every day is focused purely on the project at hand. I decided to spend six weeks on the road, travelling over 8,000 miles (12,000+ km) across the United States and Canada. I met new actors and artists in over twenty cities I visited, from Louisiana to Los Angeles, up to Vancouver, across the width of Canada, and into Maine. Everywhere I went, I worked together with these people on one of my new photographs. With the project now complete, my sleep patterns are back to normal. I no longer need to lay down with a journal next to my bed. I have a photographic series that offers an abstracted interpretation of my subconscious, and a photographic process that helps me better understand this world I live in. © All images courtesy of Andy Bloxham www.AndyBloxham.com
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Photography | Achraf Baznani
Achraf Baznani Humour and Wonder
Born in Marrakesh, Morocco, photographerartist Achraf Baznani is a self-taught artist, with no formal photography education. He plays with scale and proportion to create several mise-en-scène that are dreamlike, introspective and a little bit whimsical. His images have been lauded by art and photography lovers, and Baznani has garnered hundreds of thousands of online followers. Imparted through his work are strong senses of humour and wonder, and as such, Baznani’s art offers a surrealistic take on life experience in the digital age. During 2014 Baznani completed his 52 Project, a personal mission in which he committed to taking a picture every week consecutively for a year.
Checking my brain
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Imparted through his work are strong senses of humour and wonder, and as such, Baznani’s art offers a Surrealistic take on life experience in the digital age. Baznani had participated in several local and international collective exhibitions such as Sydney International Exhibition of Photography, Colour Burstin Hungary, Park Art Fair Internationalin Germany, Gallery Globein USA, LouvreDigital Private Exhibition inFrance, and International Surrealism Now in Portugal, among others. Human Being
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Coin 2016 | Volume 2  21
Photography | Achraf Baznani
Hand of Fate
Water
I beleive in good moves
I caught a snail
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Friendship needs no words
2016 | Volume 2  23
Photography | Achraf Baznani
Paperman
Noisiness
Lost time is never found again
Lets fly away
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Ready to fly
The door
Face to battle
Just go
2016 | Volume 2  25
Photography | Achraf Baznani
Secrets of the old book
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Secrets to knowledge
The reader 2016 | Volume 2  27
Photography | Achraf Baznani
The Wonderland Book
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Things of Small Scale Photography has always been my passion. I am a self-taught artistphotographer, but I wanted to go a step beyond normal shots, and focus more on photo manipulation. That is why Photoshop is such a great tool for me, because I can carve out my thoughts in the photos. The first photo I took for instance is Spider Baby, which is a strange depiction of a baby seemingly crawling along a wall, with his siblings on the floor trying to reach up to him. The obvious questions for this photo would be: how did he get up there, and how was the photo shot? This is a simple example of how I love to make people use their minds when they see my photos.
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That is why Photoshop is such a great tool for me, because I can carve out my thoughts in the photos. I love to be creative and innovative with my digitally enhanced photos, and my main aim is to have viewers ponder and reflect. I try to place myself in the shoes of the viewers, and wonder about what would they think, and what sort of questions will they likely pose. Then, I move forward and embark on a creative project. This is the way I love to work.
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I love to be creative and innovative with my digitally enhanced photos, and my main aim is to have viewers ponder and reflect. With surrealism you can take a break from reality. I believe that with my photos I can have people think outside the box, and with normal things we find around us every day, I still manage to convey a special message. I do not want to be complicated, but just inspirational and distinctive. So I like to use normal, simple things we find around us every day. If there is something that inspires me in some way, or I notice something, I start to think about how I can use it in a photo. I break down possibilities, and try to be innovative. Then I start to shoot photos and experiment with digital manipulation until I have a creative photo that makes viewers ponder and contemplate.
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With surrealism you can take a break from reality. I believe that with my photos I can have people think outside the box, and with normal things we find around us every day, I still manage to convey a special message. The model, particularly the small man presented in all of my artworks is nobody else but myself. When I was young I was always very obsessed with movie miniatures and movie magic and things of small scale, I used tilt-shift to create small worlds by Photoshop and then I thought to myself, why not putt myself in a surreal world? © All images courtesy of Achraf Baznani www.Baznani.com
2016 | Volume 2 29
Photography | Patrycja Makowska
Patrycja Makowska Magic of Forgotten Places
Patrycja Makowska is a former history teacher from Poland who uses old analog Russian photo equipment and lenses, as well as modern Canon and Nikon equipment to create images that pay homage to the original grandeur of crumbling baroque structures.
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During stays in the UK and Iceland she says she realized there was “magic” in forgotten places. Makowska who works in IT, started taking photographs about 12 years ago after visiting the ruins of a medieval castle. She now lives in Warsaw in her home country of Poland. Her first subject was a ruined medieval castle in the southern Polish town of Muszyna. During stays in the UK and Iceland she says she realized there was “magic” in forgotten places and began seeking them out in her home country. With plans to dive into nature photography, Makowska’s passion for exploring new photographic territory also include documenting “Urbex”, a risky global trend of urban exploration that occasionally involves trespassing on dangerous structures.
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Photography | Patrycja Makowska
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Photography | Patrycja Makowska
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Photography | Patrycja Makowska
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2016 | Volume 2  37
Photography | Patrycja Makowska
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Once Beautiful Places reflect our soul; tell the forgotten story of love, disaster, war, as well as ordinary life. Everything passes; even the power of past times is often forgotten. And that’s why I don’t give any addresses, because often these places are destroyed and devastated, it’s better for them to have been forgotten.
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The most important inspiration for me to take pictures of abandoned places is a need for identities, metaphors of life. The most important inspiration for me to take pictures of abandoned places is a need for identities, metaphors of life ... We forget that everything passes. Our youth and health are fleeting, like the places that were once beautiful.
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Our youth and health are fleeting, like the places that were once beautiful. The location of these places is hard work, the research involves maps, historical books and old guides, and talking to people who live in the areas of the buildings. I believe that if my work will appeal to even one person it is worth it. I do not do anything for the audience, I am doing it ... how I see it. © All images courtesy of Patrycja Makowska www.PatrycjaMakowska.com
2016 | Volume 2 39
Photography | Shea Evans
Shea Evans
From Kitchen to Camera and Back Shea Evans has always loved food and has been involved with food long before he became a food culture photographer. His father began teaching him how to cook when he was 7 years old. By the time Evans was in college he had gotten his first job in a restaurant kitchen, and after college he worked on a small organic vegetable farm. Evans worked for years as a sushi chef in Lake Tahoe, California. In 2008, he wanted to transition out of the restaurant industry and into working for himself as a private chef in the area. He began taking pictures of what he was making at home to build up a library of images to show potential clients. But the pictures never turned out well, and so, Evans decided he’d learn a little food photography to take better pictures. After a couple of months of studying food photography, Evans decided to put aside the personal chef idea and throw himself headlong into becoming a food culture photographer.
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After a couple of months of studying food photography, Evans decided to put aside the personal chef idea and throw himself headlong into becoming a food culture photographer.
It was a steep learning curve in the beginning. Evans started a food blog where he made and photographed two dishes a week for about 5 years. This helped him learn lighting (both natural and flash/strobe), think about presentations, about color, propping, how different foods “behaved” in a studio 40 Soura Issue 42
setting and allowed Evans to hone his personal photographic style. Once he felt he had developed his skill and had something to offer the wider community as a whole, Evans built a website and began reaching out to local restaurants, food businesses and local publications offering his food photography services. Again, it wasn’t easy, but little by little one connection would lead to another, one little job would lead into another little job. As these came and went, he continued to invest in gear, upgrading lenses, getting better modifiers and light setups, bags, camera bodies and computers.
Grilled Monterey Sardines
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Evans built a website and began reaching out to local restaurants, food businesses and local publications offering his food photography services.
Evans connected early on with the small community of professional photographers in Lake Tahoe. Though they were mostly adventure and commercial lifestyle photographers, they taught him invaluable lessons about the business of photography; about how to price and negotiate, how to value his work and also understand the cost of doing business so he wouldn’t charge too little. Since 2008, Evans has worked on large commercial jobs as well as small-scale jobs, his clients are a mix of local, regional and national magazines, small food startups and major food related companies.
Seared Snapper with Thai Spiced Eggplant
Pork Chops and Sweet Potato Fries
Photography | Shea Evans
Ginger Rhubarb Chutney
Citrus Burrata Salad
Photography | Shea Evans
Octopus and Chorizo
Skillet Baked Oysters
Winter Citrus Salad
Spring Asparagus Salad
Photography | Shea Evans
Salmon Potato Chowder
Tasting the Image If I could use one word to describe how I would like for people to interpret my work it would be, “authentic”. I’m not sure if I achieve this every time, but that’s what I hope. I’m interested in genuine and real. I like messy. I want to make images of food, people and places that are rough around the edges, documenting the perfection of imperfection. I try to show truth in food and the people who grow it, make it and eat it. I’m usually drawn to natural light. I like using big, soft, directional window light in most of my images, and this goes for everything from food to portraits and interiors. If I don’t have a window available, I usually “make one” using a large umbrella or softbox and strobes to achieve the same effect. Rarely do I try to make food images that look “lit”.
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I want to make images of food, people and places that are rough around the edges, documenting the perfection of imperfection.
I’ve done a variety of personal projects, some ongoing, others short and sweet. The one that seems to generate the most interest and be most unique to me is my Deconstructed Flavor project (some of the images from this series are pictured here). While I was still doing twice weekly blog posts, I began doing a “before” and “after” shot for each post, mostly as a way to maximize my photography learning, the idea being, “make more shots each post, learn more each time”. At first my “before” shot was a kind of “ingredient still life”, a cutting board and some veggies involved with the dish, spices, etc. But one night, I noticed how the shape of the leeks I had cut was similar to the scallops that also went in the dish, and so I pushed them all together into a kind of pattern and made a photograph. This image was the one that started me down the Deconstructed Flavor road. Sweet Potato Fries
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I’ve done a variety of personal projects, some ongoing, others short and sweet. The one that seems to generate the most interest and be most unique to me is my Deconstructed Flavor project.
Soon after, if I felt inspired, I would arrange the raw ingredients of a dish in a kind of abstract pattern or design, with an eye towards the viewer being able to “taste” the flavors of the final dish, without actually seeing it in it’s final state, creating a kind of visual flavor map. I tried making a few with just “pretty” ingredients but these arrangements never came out nearly as strong as arrangements for actual dishes. Again, this leads me back around to “authenticity” in my work. It seemed I could only create a Deconstructed Flavor I was satisfied with, if I was using the actual ingredients that balanced a specific dish. All of the images in this series represent actual dishes.
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I would arrange the raw ingredients of a dish in a kind of abstract pattern or design, with an eye towards the viewer being able to “taste” the flavors of the final dish.
At first, I was just making these for the blog, but once I had enough, I made them into prints and had some small art shows in San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and Vermont. I now sell them as prints on the side of my regular commercial and editorial photography business. I’ve done a few commissions in this style as well, one for a magazine article on “flavor balance” that landed me a cover, and another for a commercial waffle company interested in an “edgy unique” look for their website and promotional materials.I think as a photographer I should never stop trying or growing, and so I look forward to continuing the work this project as well as seeking out new ways to tell the food stories I come across. I truly love what I do. Winter Citrus Salad
© All images courtesy of Shea Evans www.SheaEvans.com 2016 | Volume 2 49
Book | ASIR: Sand in an Hourglass
Intimate and Unafraid Photography and video work, while both very different, all need the same kind of attitude. Don’t be afraid to get close. I always prefer to use smaller more mobile gear and get closer to my subjects rather than stand at a distance and use longer lenses. By being in the subject’s space you become part of the environment and create intimacy in the work. Ansel Adams once said, “A good photograph is knowing where to stand,” which is true in every respect. Photography is entirely about recording things and not about how fancy your gear is. Don’t be afraid to use your grey matter because after all, photography, or at this point visual storytelling, is how we endeavor to explain our own humanity to each other. So why not get as close as possible and tell the whole story?
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I always prefer to use smaller more mobile gear and get closer to my subjects rather than stand at a distance and use longer lenses.
Michael Bou-Nacklie A Single Light and a Truth
I seek out stories that are difficult to tell about underrepresented groups. I have spent a decade telling stories from around the world – from welders on the world’s tallest cargo cranes in Saudi Arabia, to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, to Alpaca farmers in rural Ohio. After working in Saudi Arabia as a photojournalist, editor, writer and commercial photographer I became obsessed with how different Saudi Arabia is internally compared to its perception outside. The real difference was whenever a news story broke about the Kingdom, it only showed the very narrow idea of what Saudi Arabia is – oil, men in thobes, and disenfranchised youth. While those things are true, my mission as a journalist is to show issues from different aspects, both unexpected but also interesting to a global audience.
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I have spent a decade telling stories from around the world – from welders on the world’s tallest cargo cranes in Saudi Arabia, to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, to Alpaca farmers in rural Ohio.
My visual storytelling, be it journalism-related and commercial photography and video, is informed by simplicity in design. Primarily in leading lines and contrasting colors to create the subject in full view. A lot of my inspiration comes from the work of Irving Penn who believed that one light was sufficient in any of his work, claiming that there was only one sun in the sky illuminating everything so why would anything else be needed. Everything I do is motivated by truth; and by keeping everything in my work imbued with an air of authenticity, everything remains real. I hardly ever hide behind my camera and am always engaging with my subjects regardless of whether it is a model for a client project or a documentary film.
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Everything I do is motivated by truth; and by keeping everything in my work imbued with an air of authenticity, everything remains real.
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Asir: Sand in an Hourglass Nestled on the border with Yemen sits one of Saudi Arabia’s oldest and most unique cultural regions which has persisted for thousands of years. However in the next 20 years, an entire culture is in danger of disappearing as globalization takes its hold on the most crucial demographic, the 18–35-year-olds. The last 20 years have already devastated the region with young men leaving their traditional villages in search of jobs and education not available in their hometowns. The book Asir: Sand in an Hourglass and the accompanying film is a journey through several cities of the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia to discover what remains, and what the future holds for the 100-year-old country.
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The last 20 years have already devastated the region with young men leaving their traditional villages in search of jobs and education not available in their hometowns.
Chronicles of the Forgotten Asir: Sand in an Hourglass took roughly 5 years to come to fruition and is a chronicle of a culture on the verge of disappearing. I lived in Jeddah working as a journalist for many years and became interested in Asir after seeing how drastically different it is as a culture and how geographically different it is from the rest of the country. The final push for the project came about when I was interviewing and photographing Ahmed Mater at the beginning of his art career for an article commissioned by Brownbook Magazine. Thanks to the hard work by Marriam Mossalli and her team at Niche Arabia for helping secure funding for the project and the successful Saudi launch in October. I wanted to show just how diverse the country is, both to Saudis and people who have not been to the Kingdom. But also primarily the devastating impact globalization has had on one of its oldest cultures. Not only that but everyone who originates from Saudi has someone in his or her family who has come from the Asir region. Very little work has been done to comprehensively document or preserve Asir, and given how much has been lost within the last several years, I felt it was imperative to do something as fast as possible. The entire project was conducted over a 10-day period with the help from local guides in the area. My good friend Sami Alamoudi was also with me during the project acting as my assistant throughout. The project was especially challenging after Saudia airlines lost all of my luggage, which had roughly 15k worth of equipment I had planned to use. The bag was found 6 months later.
Daggers and belts on display at a vendor’s in the Mukheil market.
An elderly man inspects an item presented to a customer at a store in Mukheil. In Asir it is common for an arbitrator to help in price bargaining.
2016 | Volume 2  51
Book | ASIR: Sand in an Hourglass
Abu Ali sits in his foodstuff store in Mukhail in Asir, Saudi Arabia.
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Abu Ali poses for a portrait outside his store in Mukheil.
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Book | ASIR: Sand in an Hourglass
Umm Mohammad poses for a portrait while shouting at one of her vendors. She has been working in the downtown Abha market for 25 years. 54  Soura Issue 42
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Book | ASIR: Sand in an Hourglass
Fayez Dahdough poses for a portrait at the museum he built celebrating food and culture, in Tanomah.
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2016 | Volume 2  57
Book | ASIR: Sand in an Hourglass
Ahmad poses for a portrait with his friend, Ali. During the warmer months men like Ahmed leave their villages in the Tihama mountains to sell honey to Saudi and western toursits. Throughout the rest of the year he tends to his flock of goats.
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2016 | Volume 2  59
Book | ASIR: Sand in an Hourglass
TOP: Dahdough pours freshly made cardomom kahwa for guests at his museum where he educates visiitors on the connection between food and culture in Tanomah. BOTTOM: Dahdough prepares traditional tea by slowly roasting coffee beans and crushing them in a mortar and pestle. “While crushing the coffee a host can let the guest know if he is enjoying his guest by knocking the edge of the metal making a song out of it. If the host is not happy then no sound is needed,” he said.
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A vendor adjusts tins of honey on sale at the honey souk in Mukhail in the Asir province of Saudi Arabia. Three kinds of honey are generally sold - yellow, white, and black. Each has a different flavor and according to locals different medicinal purposes. Bee stings are also used to relieve pain and poor circulation in joints.
About Michael Bou-Nacklie Michael Bou-Nacklie specializes in visual storytelling through photojournalism and commercial mediums. He has been telling visual stories from around the world for close to a decade, and is keen on telling those of little-known and underrepresented communities.
Š All images courtesy of Michael Bou-Nacklie To flip throught the book, visit www.issuu.com/MichaelBou-Nacklie/ docs/Asir_Sand_In_An_Hourglass
2016 | Volume 2  61
Art | Emily Boutard
Emily Boutard
A Big Girl in a Small World Twenty-eight year-old Emily Boutard has always been in love with tiny things. She lives and works in Melbourne and has been collecting miniatures and dollhouses since she was a child. Now, Boutard makes miniature furniture and architectural models and houses. At first it was just a bit of fun, but over the years it evolved into more of an obsession, and now Boutard does it almost full time. She began building architectural models and dollhouses when she was in her teens, but it was not until she was in law school that she began making them seriously. Boutard never really considered it a legitimate career path however, not until recently.
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Boutard decided to quit her job as a lawyer and has been studying architecture for two years, and now has enough spare time and energy to make her tiny furniture. After university, Boutard worked as a lawyer in a corporate firm in Melbourne for a few years in tax and property law. She loved being a lawyer because it is intellectually challenging and interesting. However, she worked long hours and never had enough time to do anything productive outside of work. Most of all, she was always too tired to make miniatures. Boutard decided to quit her job as a lawyer and has been studying architecture for two years, and now has enough spare time and energy to make her tiny furniture. To support herself, Boutard teaches at a law school in Melbourne and works part time for a legal start up company called LawAdvisor. Because of her legal training, she can make enough money working part time to support herself; Boutard considers herself really lucky in that respect.
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Art | Emily Boutard
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Art | Emily Boutard
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Art | Emily Boutard
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Art | Emily Boutard
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Recreating History I try to achieve accuracy in my miniatures that I often use historical pattern books or I copy pieces of furniture I see in real life. That’s really where I get my inspiration. I am particularly interested in architecture history and my architecture studies assist me in creating historically correct interiors and furniture. I usually create miniatures from whatever historical period I am studying at the time (at architecture school or for my own interest). I always try to learn something new every time I make a miniature.
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When I make something I have never made before, I spend a lot of time studying the real-life object, in order to get a good understanding of its proportions and physical properties. When I make something I have never made before, I spend a lot of time studying the real-life object, in order to get a good understanding of its proportions and physical properties (materials it is made from, etc.). Then I choose materials that are appropriate. I made a tiny violin recently. To make it, I shopped around to find wood of the finest possible grain. I then decided how the pieces will look and fit together. Some people make physical drawings and plans, but I never do, I just do that mentally. If you want to see how I make furniture items, you can find tutorials I have posted on my website and follow along. I love to share my work, and my tips and secrets. © All images courtesy of Emily Boutard www.littlearchitecture.com
2016 | Volume 2 71
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